Introduction

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Introduction

Winning AUHack 🥇

What is AUHack?

A hackathon where groups of students can work together to create prototypes and concepts over a 36-hour period at Aarhus University. Endless supply with gadgets, tools, and tech people to help us make actual prototypes.

One group will win Best AUHack 2017.

What was your product?

Our product was a pc-monitor that displays your productivity. Based on this, the application will either reward you if your productive, or punish you if you're procrastinating.

Through an intelligent system that monitors computer activity and facial recognition, the PC will display your productivity and procrastination.

Winning AUHack displays my ability to work hard. We had 36 hours to finish our case. I worked all night to make sure our product. I take this motivation with me whenever I work on a case. I will not stop before the work is done.

Creative Process

Creative Process

Motivating a group of computerscientists to use design methods. 👨‍🏫

Although we already had an idea, I motivated the group to spend more time on creating more ideas within our problem area. So, I facilitated a creative process using konvergent and divergent thinking.

Convergent

Here every team member would individually brainstorm as many ideas as they could.

Then, we would present all our ideas for each other.

Divergent

When everybody had finished presenting their ideas, we would discuss which ones we thought were the most interesting to work with and realistic to achieve within our limited ressources such as time, tools, and people to work with.

While developers tend to start coding as soon as they face a problem; Caglar proved to me at AUHack’17 that starting projects off with a thorough problem identification and brainstorming process plays an important role towards a successful end result.

It was particularly beneficial in two ways. First of all every member of our team ended up on the exact same page working towards the same goal. Secondly our product ended up solving the core problem that our idea based on instead of the symptoms.

- Frederik Hvilshøj, Student of Computer Science, Team Member

Everybody listens to Sine (Information Science) presenting her ideas she came up with during the brainstorm-assignment.

Wireframe

Wireframe

I used the same methods creating interface mockups through hand drawings 😇

First, I focus on quantity (divergent)

Here I create as many interfaces and elements for the interfaces as possible based on the given context. I explore every field, and simply focus on making more

Then, I choose based on quality (convergent)

Afterwards, I review and discuss (with my-self sometimes) all interfaces and benefits of each interfaces compared to each other.

Mastering both methods allows me to find the make the best interface for a given problem 🔍

At AUHack I reviewed all interfaces together with Frederik about which one suited our product the best.

We decided that a bar and a numerical value worked in our favor. Unlike a circular graph, A vertical or horizontal bar gives a better sense of progression for the user. Because it grows and fills up empty space. In this way, we reward the user visually. While a circular graph is never growing outside itself but only changing it´s content.

Physical Product

Physical Product

PRODUCT

Working intensely overnight to finish our product. 🔨

It is a box that contains some kind of reward inside (e.g. a cookie). The henge of the box is connected to an Arduino that is connected to a server. When a user's productivity bar is filled, then the box will open.

Q&A

Are you going to attend again?

For sure. In fact, I've requested them to contact me next year so that the challenges and the event can be more relevant for digital designers. It is very cool to hang out with smart people who have their own niche areas and interests, and together create something. You learn so much, and it reminds me of why I love creating.

What did you learn from this experience?

Working with people from different studies help me realize my own skills as a designer. I also learned that it is helpful for a developer when the designer knows the basics of coding, so that you in your design can implement solutions that don't require them to have to code too specific stuff. And also, data scientists have a very different atmosphere and culture than we do on my studies. They are very pragmatical, and it can take some effort to convince them to be more creative.